Coon Rapids / Charge against officer in road rage case is dropped

Evidence lacking, prosecutor says of indictment

Prosecutors have dropped a criminal charge against Landen Michael Beard, the Robbinsdale police officer involved in a road rage shooting last summer in Coon Rapids.

A grand jury indicted Beard in December on making terroristic threats, a felony. But the Washington County attorney's office asked that the charge be dismissed, which was granted, according to court records Friday.

Martin Scott Treptow, who is accused of shooting Beard, was indicted on the same charge as well as drive-by shooting and reckless discharge of a firearm within a municipality. He is scheduled for trial in July.

Beard's case was dropped because there wasn't sufficient evidence for a conviction, said Washington County Attorney Doug Johnson. A grand jury only has to find probable cause.

"I think the officer's behavior was not what one would expect from a law officer in Minnesota. This was a road rage incident, but he didn't commit any felonies that we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt," Johnson said, referring to the higher standard needed for a conviction at trial.

The Coon Rapids city attorney could not be reached for comment Friday.

Attorney Marie Failinger, who specializes in criminal law at Hamline University, said it's unusual for a prosecutor to drop charges brought by a grand jury.

"But it's not unheard of," she added.

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"Sometimes this happens because as the prosecutor goes forward, the prosecutor then finds there is just not enough evidence. The standard at the grand jury is a lot lower than at the trial."

Washington County was handling Beard's case to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest in Anoka County.

Neither Treptow nor Beard could be reached for comment.

On the afternoon of June 7, Beard, 28, was returning to an undercover operation from his home, and Treptow, 36, was driving to St. Paul. Treptow's wife, Rebecca, was in the passenger seat and their two young children were in the back of their SUV.

Beard passed the Treptows on a paved shoulder of a suburban side street, setting off the confrontation. Horn-honking and gesturing ensued and rapidly escalated, according to statements by Beard and both Treptows.

A key witness told police she saw Beard hanging out of the unmarked sedan he was driving, screaming, "I'll (expletive) kill you. ... I don't care about jail," according to police records.

Beard told investigators he didn't yell profanities.

As the vehicles approached Foley Boulevard south of U.S. 10, they stopped next to each other in traffic.

Both Treptow and Beard said the other person drew his weapon first.

Treptow, a trained security officer, leaned across his wife and shot Beard through the vehicle's open windows. A single round from his Glock 9 mm blew out Treptow's passenger-side mirror, passing through one of Beard's arms and his left leg. It then entered his right leg, breaking the femur.